Penumbra
by The Elusive Cryptic
Summary: "So what happened? What changed him?" He asked. Peter answered, "The same thing that changes a lot of young men. A girl" (Flashback!AU/Young!Peter)
1. Chapter 1

First chapters are always a little rough and short for me, so bear with me. I've been brainstorming ideas for a while and thought I'd try my hand at writing again. And I don't see a lot of Young!Peter. Who wouldn't want the beautiful Michael Fjordbak?

And I'm going to try and make Peter as in character as possible, so review and say if things should be changed to fit his character more.

* * *

_**C**__hapter __**O**__ne_

"What are you doing?"

Derek could only stare at the arrow that was caught inches away from his face. Peter tossed it and grabbed his shoulder, shoving him into a run. They were both panting and sweaty, trying to listen for two things at once: a howl from the pack or the hunters gaining on them.

It was exhausting.

"Peter!"

He spun to Derek, who stared at the hunters around them. There were at least three, all equipped with bows and arrows and guns.

"What do we do now?" Derek asked; his voice was shaky.

Peter grit his teeth; there was nothing they could do. They were surrounded.

There was a growl rippling through the trees in under a second. A whirlwind of glowing amber eyes and long hair; a female beta, Peter noticed, kicked the gun from the hunter's hands and whirled around to kick him in the chest with the same booted leg.

"Go!" Peter heaved Derek out the crossfire.

"Wait!" Derek said, "Did you hear that?"

The beta screamed; a stomach-dropping scream laced with a howl.

Derek looked over to Peter, "We have to help her."

"She's not our pack!" Peter snarled.

"She saved us," Derek retaliated, trying to push past Peter.

He groaned, his eyes flashing, "Fine."

The beta was in terrible shape: she lay on the ground curled into the fetal position, blood drenching her shirt and soaking into the dirt. A hunter stood over her, the other two running into another direction where another wolf was spotted.

He had a smirk on his face, his crossbow aimed at her head. The beta clenched her teeth and eyes, howling in pain.

Peter kicked the crossbow and snapped the hunter's arm, smashing his head into the trunk of a tree. The hunter sank to the ground while Peter picked up the beta, running towards Derek. With the extra weight of the beta, Peter was running at the same speed as Derek.

"Wait, wait," Derek skidded to a stop.

"What now?!" Peter growled.

Derek kicked the dirt away to reveal a door in the ground; he looked up at Peter.

"Open it!"

He ripped the door up and Peter dragged himself and the bloody beta into the cellar. Derek closed the door behind them.

The cellar was dank and consisted mostly of dirt with the roots of a gigantic tree stretching through the cellar and deeper into the ground.

Peter sank against the roots while the beta gasped loudly in pain. She sank into his lap, drenching Peter's jeans, while Peter cupped his arm around her head as she buried her face in the crook of his arm.

Derek sat next to them, watching as Peter pushed her tangled hair from her neck and massaged it, his veins blackening the skin of his arm. "Is she gonna die?"

Peter shook his head, "I don't know. But if she doesn't shut up we're all going to."

He turned her over slowly, looking at the wound. Her entire chest was soaked in scarlet with three bullet holes in her chest and abdomen. Peter grunted as she started to make choking sounds, wide, electrifying amber eyes staring up at him in shock.

"Hold her head up," he told Derek.

Derek tilted her head up and a steady stream of blood poured from her lips. Derek cringed and his wrinkled in disgust, "What do we do?"

There was another gunshot, making Peter and Derek jump.

"Make her quiet," Peter said, grabbing her hand and taking her pain; he gasped and clenched his teeth. Derek pulled her other arm from her lap and began to do the same. It didn't take long for her to pass out.

It took almost two hours for the hunters to steer clear of them.

"She's not healing," Derek pointed out, "The bleeding stopped but the bullets are still there."

"Well, that's why we have to pull them out," Peter said, shifting in his spot to look at where they'd laid her down.

Derek looked at Peter nervously, "Is that safe?"

"You want her to die?" Peter asked.

Derek shook his head and looked down at her. He decided she would've been really pretty if she hadn't riddled with bullet holes and had washed the dirt from her face. For now, though, she was just a bloody mess.

Peter dragged her out from the tree roots and flicked out a claw, grabbing the collar of her shirt and dragging the sharp nail down the center of her shirt, cutting through the bra. Derek looked away as soon as Peter removed her shirt and exposed her entire chest. Peter rolled his eyes at him.

"Hold her head up," he told him.

Derek sat on his knees and held her head in his lap, trying not to get them tangled in her dirty hair.

Peter looked her over: there was a bullet just below the collarbone, one in between her ribs and another buried in her breast. The ones in her breast and ribs would be the hardest to dig out.

He stared up at Derek, "Hold her down."

Derek nodded and adjusted her head as Peter flicked out the rest of his claws and began to work on the bullet in her breast first. He kept his fingers as close together as he could and sank them down into the flesh. About an inch in, the beta's eyes flew open, glowing amber.

She cried weakly and shrank into herself, making Peter lose his grip on the bullet.

"Hold her down!"

"I'm trying!"

Peter grabbed the bullet and pulled it out quickly, almost as soon as he did, the skin to seal itself closed. The beta looked up at Derek, her pupils twitching as if she would lose consciousness again.

"Stop," she pleaded feebly.

"We're gonna get the bullets out," Derek said consolingly, "just wait, okay?"

She nodded shakily and grabbed Derek's hand, holding it tight. Derek moved his knees to the side and she closed her eyes, pressing her head back into Derek's lap.

While Peter pulled the other bullet from her ribs, she began to cough up blood onto Derek's clothes. As Peter worked on the bullet by her collarbone, she finally passed out again.

Derek stared down at her in pity; it was like watching a dying puppy.

"She'll be fine," Peter said, falling on the ground in exhaustion. "I think."

Derek gently set her head down on the ground and tried not to stare at her chest, "Should we uh...give her a shirt or something?"

"Everything's covered in blood anyways," Peter said.

"But she'll freeze."

Peter sighed dramatically and took of his jacket, setting it over the girl. Derek adjusted it so the sleeves could curl into a cushion for her head. He scooted over by Peter, who was lying on his back by the roots with an arm over his eyes. His hands were covered in blood.

"Which pack do you think she's in?" Derek asked.

Peter opened his eyes and looked at her, "Ennis, he likes young hot chicks in his pack."

Derek shook his head, he couldn't believe Peter could joke at a time like this.

"Get some sleep," Peter said, "I'll take first watch."

He nodded, realizing how exhausted he was, and curled up under the roots.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm aware that this is so, so, so short but I couldn't get past this funk and figured you guys deserve at least something. Promise next chapter will be longer. Review

* * *

_**C**_**hapter **_**T**_**wo**

**P**eter picked at the dried blood on his hands. Keeping an eye out for hunters was both a bit scary and incredibly boring. The bloody clothes weren't helping either.

"Is all that mine?"

Peter turned to see the beta lying on her side, one arm bent under her head. Her skin was as pale as the moonlight, which made her light eyes even lighter.

"Is it mine?" She repeated. "The blood."

"Yeah."

She winced as she tried to sit up and leaned on her elbow, breathing heavily.

"Where's my shirt?" She asked.

"Ripped it off," He answered, "Would've been a little sexier if you weren't bleeding to death."

The beta rolled her eyes and tried to sit up and put on the sleeves of the jacket, "You always this cynical?"

"Depends on my mood," Peter said, "We _are_ sitting in an underground cellar waiting out a group of crazy-ass hunters."

She flinched in pain and laid back down, looking back over at him, "Are they still here?"

"Don't know," He told her, "they might be."

The beta nodded and curled up again.

Peter saw the jacket start wetting with blood again, "Don't move."

He walked over to her and sat down, helping her sit up and slowly moved her arms through the sleeves. She laid back down on her side and wrapped her arms around herself, keeping the jacket closed.

"This yours?" She asked, tugging at the jacket's collar.

"Used to be."

She nodded and rested her head on her arm again, looking over to where Derek was sleeping, "Is he your brother?"

"No."

She sighed and brushed her hair from her eyes and picked at the thread on the jacket's hem. Peter crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side, "Whose pack are you from?"

"Whose pack are _you _from?"

Peter scoffed, "You think I'm going to trust you because you happened to show up in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night? By my property?"

She narrowed her pretty green eyes, "I think you're going to trust me because I took a few bullets to the chest for you."

"And I dug them out of you."

She smiled at him, "Deucalion's pack."

Peter gave a satisfied grin, "Hale."

She nodded and looked over to Derek, who opened his eyes and sat up straighter when he saw her awake. He rubbed his eyes and turned to look at Peter, who gave him a shrug back.

Derek looked back at the girl, "Are you healing?"

She nodded, "I'm pretty sure. Thank you."

He nodded, "That's good," then turned to Peter, "Did you hear anything?"

Peter shook his head, "I don't know what they're planning."

Derek nodded, "Sounds good. So, uh, what's your name?"

The girl sat up slowly and looked at Derek, "Lina."

"Derek," he gestured to Peter, "That's Peter."

Lina nodded and pulled the sleeves over her hands, leaning her head on her knees, "So how long?"

"A day or two," Peter answered. "What were you doing out here?"

She rested her chin on her knees and said, "Another member of my pack came with me to see Talia Hale. We were delivering a message from Deucalion, but we ran into the hunters."

Derek looked over to Peter, "What was the message?"

"That," she said, "is for Talia Hale only." She looked up at the dirt ceiling, "Did you see him? Is he okay?"

They looked at each other and then to Lina, whose eyes where already starting to tear up. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, shaking her head once and brushing her eyes.

Neither of them knew what to say to her, so they stayed quiet.

Lina finally turned to them after a few minutes and asked, "Was anyone else with you?"

"I think they got away," Derek said.

Peter stared at her in curiosity, trying to decide what her status was in the pack. Her eyes were amber, which meant she wasn't an alpha, she hadn't killed anyone.

"I'll take next watch," Lina offered.

"I'll stay up with you," Derek told her, "If you want to rest more."

Lina nodded and Peter shrugged, "Wake me up if you hear anything."


	3. Chapter 3

I've finally gotten rid of the writer's block I've had.

Review

* * *

**_C_****hapter _T_hree**

"So you're Talia's son?"

"Yeah."

Lina slumped against the dirt wall, shrugging towards Peter, "And he's her brother?"

Derek nodded, "You're Deucalion's daughter."

Lina nodded and said, "I am."

Derek began to ask another question until Peter interrupted, "Anything?"

"No," Lina told him. "We could probably get going when it's daylight."

He nodded and looked up, "It'll only be a couple more hours then."

* * *

"Our house isn't that far," Derek told her.

Lina said, "I know my way around Beacon Hills," with a smile. He smiled back.

She wavered with them, walking slower and holding her stomach with clenched teeth. The pain made her more prone to the traps the hunters set and Peter knew this, so he wavered behind Derek by her side, watching for all of them.

"Getting any better?" Peter asked quietly.

"Better than before," Lina told him.

Her foot hit something; a string, she thought. It was proven by an arrow pointing at her face with Peter's closed fist around it.

"This is twice now," Peter told her.

She gave him a small smile and kept walking, "Does your sister know you're out here?"

"Probably not," he answered.

"The other beta," she started, "They really killed him?"

"Shot an arrow through his throat," Peter said. He saw her eyes start to tear up, "He could've healed."

Lina smiled at him sadly and shook her head, "I don't think so."

After a few minutes of silence, the scent of wolves overcame the rest of the scents and a large house appeared. A girl with reddish-brown hair came running out the door yelling, "Derek!"

She nearly tackled him as she hugged him, but was only as tall as his waist. She couldn't've been older than six.

Derek hugged her back and asked, "Cora, where's mom?"

Peter walked forward and received a big smile from the little girl Cora. He patted her shoulder and Lina grinned at him.

"What's all that?" She asked, pointing at his shirt.

"That's from," Peter turned back to Lina, "our guest. This is Lina; she's from Deucalion's pack."

She saw he was looking up at the porch now and saw Talia Hale standing there.

"Hi," said the little girl.

Lina smiled at her, "Hi."

Talia hugged Derek and pulled back to look at him, asking him something. Lina couldn't hear over the little girl asking Peter questions about why Lina was wearing his jacket. Really, only his jacket.

"Cora, sweetheart," Talia said, putting a hand on Cora's shoulder, "why don't you go inside and help Derek."

"Okay," Cora answered, running up the porch steps and closing the door behind her.

"You must be Deucalion's daughter," Talia said. "He said to keep an eye out for you."

She nodded, pulling the jacket tighter around her, "I'm Lina. Have you spoken with him?"

"He's worried," Talia said. "Come inside and clean up."

Lina smiled at her and followed, Peter following behind Lina.

"Are you healing?" She asked.

"Yes," Lina answered, "thanks to your son and brother."

Talia gave a little smile to Peter and he tilted his chin up which gave her the thought that they were focusing on something else.

"You should call your father," Talia told her. "You can clean up here if you'd like."

"Thank you," Lina said.

"Phone's in the kitchen," Peter told her, "Through the hall."

She nodded and went to find the phone.

"Deucalion will be grateful you saved his daughter," Talia said to Peter.

"What can I say?" Peter told her, "I'm just that type of guy."

"Or you owed her," Talia assumed.

* * *

"Dad?"

"Lina," Deucalion sounded shocked, "Is that you? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah," she consoled, "I'm okay; I'm fine. I'm with Talia Hale right now."

"Why are you there?"

"The hunters," Lina answered. "I ran into her brother and son. And Marco, he..."

"I know," Deucalion said to her.

"I'll be home in a little bit," she said, "I promise."

"I'll pick you up-"

"No," Lina interrupted. "It's okay. I'll come home in just a little bit, okay?"

There was a long pause, "Alright, Line. Be careful."

"I will. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Lina hung up the phone as Peter entered the kitchen, sidestepping her and turning on the faucet.

"Why won't you let him pick you up?" He asked, picking the dried blood off his fingers under the water.

"Look at me," she said, "I'm covered in blood. He'd have a panic attack."

Peter scoffed and looked down at his bloody shirt, then took it off and threw it over the back of the closest chair.

Lina looked away and Peter grinned to himself as he washed off the rest of the blood. He grabbed the shirt and walked through the hall. A second later he leaned back into the kitchen and asked, "Do you want to stay in that jacket all day or not?"

"I don't have anything else."

"You already stole one of my favorite jackets," Peter said, "you can steal something else."

Lina crossed her arms over the jacket and followed him up the stairs and into a bedroom that was kept pretty clean. Peter grabbed another T-shirt from a drawer and threw it on, then started to unzip his jeans. She turned away from him quickly and looked up at the ceiling.

Peter smiled and rolled his eyes; she was so much more innocent than most of the werewolves he'd met. He could only assume it was because of her father.

After he had put on a new pair of jeans, he said, "You can turn around now."

Lina turned and kept her arms crossed, "Do you have anything I can steal?"

Peter dug through another drawer and pulled out a shirt and a pair of sweatpants, "You can change after taking a shower. It's over there," he nodded his head towards the private bathroom.

She stepped closer to take the clothes from him, "Thank you."

"You know," Peter said, "we could save more water if I join you."

Lina smiled a little bit and answered, "Maybe sometime later."


	4. Chapter 4

Forgive me for the delay and if it's a little meh.

Review

* * *

"You've heard about the blue moon this month?" Lina asked Peter, combing her fingers through her dark, wet hair.

Peter sat back against the bed and set aside the magazine he'd been reading, "That's why all of the alphas are here."

"Part of it," Lina said.

He sat forward, suddenly intrigued, "What else do you know about them being here?"

"That your sister has an appointment with them," she said, "that's why I came to set up a meeting time." She sat on the edge of his bed and added quietly, "Marco and I."

Peter saw her eyes well up and noticed how bloodshot they were. He figured it was from when she was crying in the shower about her fallen beta. Lina wiped her eyes with the sleeve of the shirt and turned to Peter, "I have to talk to your sister and then go find my dad. He's probably sending Wilson to get me."

"I'll drive you," Peter said.

"Thanks," Lina told him, jumping off the bed and heading for the door, "I should go talk to your sister."

Peter went back to reading his magazine and before she could leave the room, held up a hand. She stopped and expressed confusion while Peter looked up innocently and said, "Towel."

"Oh," Lina said, handing him the towel she had been latching onto and sighing nervously as she left.

He stared after her through the crack in the doorway. He liked the way she walked, well he liked the way parts of her moved while she walked. She turned onto the stairs and he tossed his magazine aside, stepping out his clothes and into the shower.

Though Lina hadn't taken a long time in the shower, her scent lingered. Peter let her scent slowly wash away and restrained from opening the bottles to whisk it away. He rested his head against the wall and relaxed in the warmth, listening to her pretty voice express the worry of surrounding packs.

"_You remember the last blue moon_."

"_Of course_," Talia answered.

"_Then you know of the Henderson pack_," Lina said. He noticed her voice became more stable while she spoke to the alpha. Of course, she would soon be one herself.

That's what Peter found most attractive: **_The power she would wield_, **the power she already had control of.

"_They were foolish to create a new pack at the time of a blue moon,_" Talia said.

"_The hunters are on high alert this month_," Lina informed, "_They aren't going directly by the code, Argent is starting to break it."_

There was a pause; Peter listened even closer and heard Lina's heart beat rise, waiting for Talia to respond.

"_They've already killed one of ours_," Lina started, "_a few nights ago_."

Peter didn't like the way her voice dropped on the topic of the beta's death.

"_My father wants to arrange a meeting."_

"_Tell him I'll send my emissary to arrange one soon_," Talia said.

"_Alright_," Lina agreed.

The conversation began to bore him as it drained away of the topic of alphas and hunters. Idle chit-chat ensued as he finished his shower. He wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped into the bedroom.

"Oh," Lina said, looking at the floor as she sat on the edge of his bed again. "Do you want me to leave."

"If you find it too distracting," Peter said, riffling through his drawers and pulling out some clothes.

Lina puffed in amusement and turned her back to him, crossing her legs on the bed and looking at the wall. She fiddled with a loose thread in the shirt and said, "I assume you were listening."

"Your assumption would be correct," Peter answered, pulling on some jeans. He threw his shirt over his shoulders and grabbed a leather jacket from the back of his desk chair, "Come on. You can explain to me what happened on the last blue moon while we take a long, romantic drive to wherever it is you're staying."

* * *

"So what happened?"

"Well," Lina began, "Gregory Henderson used to be an alpha...in Seattle. Three years ago, when the last blue moon was scheduled to rise, he became an alpha. He decided to build a pack and two full moons in the same month with newborn betas can be overwhelming; especially when you're as inexperienced as a fourteen year old."

"Hormone filled rug rat suddenly gains all the power you could ever dream of," Peter said, "what could go wrong?"

"He had six betas," she told him, "they were all classmates of his."

Peter scoffed and Lina finished, "His entire pack was killed along with a few unlucky humans caught in the crossfire. Hunters aren't taking any chances this year. They're beginning to break the code."

"The Argents are insane," said Peter, "Especially that crazy bastard Gerard."

Lina nodded, "No kidding. Take a right."

"Where is it you're staying?"

"In the penthouse," She answered, "At the Old Bailey."

The trip was quiet except for the directions she gave him. Peter somehow enjoyed it, his mood unusually good for the ride alone with her. The elevator had dimmed it for him, another human with annoying body odor standing next to them. It was shame she had to go so soon.

"You didn't have to come up to the penthouse with me," Lina told him.

"Why not?" Peter asked, his voice lower than usual.

Her mouth moved but no sound came from it as the door opened to reveal another beta standing before it.

"Lina," he said, "Thank God."

"Marco?" She asked in disbelief, her mouth forming a perfect 'O' as she paled and then threw her arms around his shoulders. She buried her head in his neck and sighed, "I thought you were dead."

Marco pulled her back and held her shoulders, "I thought you were. I smelled all the blood after I made it out, when you went back..."

They shared a long, passionate kiss that irritated Peter to no end.

"I thought you said he was killed," Lina said, turning back to Peter with an accusing look in her now brighter eyes.

"There was another out there," Peter said, "Must have been a mistake."

"That was Ennis' beta," Marco remarked, his voice now having an edge to it as he spoke to Peter.

Lina must have noticed since she took his hand in hers and said, "This is Peter. He's Talia's brother and he and his nephew saved my life."

Marco tilted his chin up, the razor edge still tainting his tone as he said, "I suppose we owe you."

"Don't worry about that," Peter said. "I should be going."

Lina began to thank him as Parco interrupted, "Deucalion's waiting for you."

"I'll be right in," she told him. He nodded and pecked her lips before disappearing inside. Lina smiled at Peter and said, "Thank you for everything."

Peter returned the smile and answered, "It was my pleasure."

She smiled once again before receding inside. As soon as the door had closed, Marco grabbed her waist and began kissing her again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he led them to the couch, where he pulled her onto his lap.

"I thought you said my dad was in here."

Marco smiled, "They're out looking for you," he kissed her again and said, "I'll call in ten minutes."

* * *

Peter decided he didn't like that Marco guy. His eyes narrowed too much, his voice was a little too tinged in ridicule.

Basically, he thought the guy sucked.

Listening to them making out on the couch hadn't helped the argument any more. The familiar pang of jealousy resided inside of him along with the new feeling of longing: like looking at something you knew you couldn't afford.

But this time, he could afford her; he was determined to match her price.


End file.
